


An Amalgamation of Innocence and Sorrow

by c723kerosene



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Canon Related, I think I'm missing a ton of other people but whatever, M/M, Rafa and Sonny are dads, also barba's mom is in this, my first fic posting on here so be nice, there will be some canon stuff but some also not canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-10
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-16 19:35:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29954868
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/c723kerosene/pseuds/c723kerosene
Summary: This dives into the lives of Sonny, Rafael, and Ruby, a family once together, then separated, now together again. Sonny and Rafa have been secretly married for twelve years. They met in Staten Island when Rafael filled in for an ADA on maternity leave. He had a secret kid, Ruby, through an old friend of his from college. Sonny was only meant to be a fling, a one-night stand until an awkward encounter with Rafael's secret kid brought them together.
Relationships: Mike Dodds/Original Female Character(s), Rafael Barba & Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr., Rafael Barba/Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 15





	1. East Jesus Nowhere

**Author's Note:**

> I'm so nervous about posting this on here and it's way past my bedtime so I'm just gonna go for it and pass out, lol.

Ruby had the news on quietly as she did the dishes in the kitchen. The only light on was in the kitchen light above her. She laughed at the “Cutest Video of the Day” segment, a duckling running and falling over repeatedly. The “Breaking News” jingle played and Ruby turned her attention to the screen.

“The jury in the case of The State of New York vs. Mickey Davis has come back with a verdict after only two hours of deliberation. The jury has found Mickey Davis guilty Second Degree Manslaughter after the murder of his daughter’s rapist. It was a highly emotional day in court for both sides of the legal counsel as well. The prosecutor was former SVU Detective Dominick Carisi, and the criminal attorney was former A.D.A. Rafael Barba--”

Ruby’s mouth dropped open as pictures of the two familiar faces appeared on screen.

“No way. That can’t be true.”

Her brain flashed back to her early childhood. At least, what she could remember of it and a small smile flashed across her face.

 _It was a good time_.

She turned back to the sink, drowning out the rest of the news report.

Just as she finished up the last dish in the sink, she heard the soft padding of feet and a small sniffle.

“Sissy?” a soft voice called out.

Ruby turned around and looked at Willow, only six years old.

“Yes, sweetheart?” She responded

“I had a bad dream. Can I sleep with you?”

A small smile crosses her face. “Of course you can.”

Willow walks over with bleary eyes and Ruby picks her up. She takes one last look at the TV, still talking about the trial. She sighs as a picture of Carisi and Barba flashes across the screen again before turning off the TV and the kitchen light.

She carries Willow to her room and lays her down in her bed, tucking her in tightly.

“I’ll be right back in, I’ve just gotta brush my teeth.”

Willow nods.

Ruby quietly shuts the door and turns the light on. She runs a hand across her face. Just as she puts toothpaste on her toothbrush, the door opens. Ruby turns to see her mother standing in the doorway.

“It’s midnight,” she said.

“Is it? I didn’t even notice,” Ruby says, muffled with toothpaste.

“Your birthday’s in two days. You’re almost eighteen.”

Ruby forces a smile before spitting into the sink.

“I have a birthday present for you.”

“From you, or from them?”

“It’s from me.” She holds out a card and Ruby accepts.

She carefully tears the envelope open to a daughter-themed birthday card. It’s not much, but for Ruby, it was the thought that counted. She opened the card and two items fell out. Ruby continued to read the card before picking up the fallen items.

She sees that one of the items is a Visa gift card, and the other is a bus ticket to Manhattan. Ruby looks up at her mom with a confused look in her eye.

“It’s time for you to go back and see them. It’s been ten years. You’re an adult now and… It’s just the safest for you. It always has been. I can’t give you the address, I don’t know it, but just go here and ask for him.”

Her mother handed her a piece of paper.

“But what about Willow?”

“You know how your dad will react if you take her.”

“But I don’t want anything to happen to her.”

“Go to New York first, and then they can help you. I’ll keep an eye on her and call you if there’s anything to be worried about. There’s a bag packed in your room.”

Ruby sighs. The bittersweet melancholy of the situation hitting her. She has to see them, the only people who showed her compassion and care, but she doesn’t want to leave Willow behind in order to do so.

The words rang around in her head. _They can help you. If they can help me, then she wouldn’t have to live in this shithole with that shithole._

She walked back into her room where Willow was sound asleep in her bed. She walked over and kissed Willow’s forehead and pressed her forehead against Willow’s. A tear rolls down her eye and drops onto Willow’s head. Willow stirs slightly and Ruby worries she’s woken her up, but she just rolls around and squeezes her stuffed bunny. _Well, my stuffed bunny_ , she thinks.

She gives Willow one last look before grabbing her bag and turning out the door.

Trying not to make too much noise, she sneaks out of her house, quietly closing the front door behind her. She makes her way to the bus station, regretting not grabbing a jacket before she left, as the station was about twelve miles away and she had to walk there in the dead of night.

***

Rafael was on his way home from a consultation with The Innocence Project in D.C. He’s lucky that he’s been busy lately, not having to face the feelings that came with the date coming up. But he was going to have a week off work, including the day he hated most, for the first time in a decade. He had always made sure to be working on the anniversary, but now he has to face it head on.

He wasn’t keen on public transportation, so he took a cab from D.C. to Manhattan. He knew it was a long ride, but the longer it took for him to get home, the better. He knew Sonny knew it too. He understood. He experienced that horrific day with him. He felt the pain associated with it. Only, Sonny got to distract himself with work this year. Rafael felt a twinge of jealousy just thinking about it.

It was all his fault, and he knew it. He had been feeling nothing but guilt for the past decade over the situation. Sonny told him not to beat himself up about it, that it wasn’t his fault, but he knew that he blamed him. _How couldn’t he?_

Now that he had time to think about that unfortunate day a decade ago, his typically well-hidden emotions were now seeping out of every crevice. The guilt and anger that had been suppressed over the past decade came boiling out for the first time. The tears started welling up in his eyes as he buried his face in his hands. As the first tear started falling, his phone rang as if on cue. Pulling his phone out of his coat pocket, he saw it was Sonny, his contact reading “Sunshine”.

“Hi sweetheart. How are you?” The Staten Island accent ringing through the phone.

“How do you think, sunshine?” Rafael answered, his voice broken.

“I know, I can’t believe you’re not working this year.” Sympathy was evident in Sonny’s voice.

“I don’t even know what to do.”

“You don’t have to.”

Rafael didn’t respond. He didn’t know how to. “I’ll be home in a few hours.”

“There’ll be food in the oven for you so you can eat. I’ll be in bed, but wake me up when you get in bed, okay?”

“You hate being woken up.”

“Yeah, but I’ll endure it for you.”

Rafael lightly smiles. “I love you, sunshine.”

“Love you too sweetheart.”

***

The ride to Manhattan was simultaneously the longest and shortest trip of Ruby’s life. She had indentations on her skin from resting her head against the window while she was asleep.

The intercom went off, stating there was fifteen minutes left until they arrived. In New York. On her birthday. The first half of the first day of her adulthood was spent on a bus, so she knew she didn’t have time to waste. She had to see them today.

When the bus pulled into the station, she was the first person off, grabbing her bag the minute she found it in the pile at the station. She didn’t have a phone, but luckily there were paper maps in a little basket she could grab to help her find her way.

She went over to a bench and opened the map. She nearly felt like crying when the map kept folding out to no end. It wasn’t even halfway out when she decided to give up and hail a cab instead.

 _Oh, how New York of you. They’ll be happy to hear this_.

Walking out of the bus station, it wasn’t difficult to find a taxi. They were all lined up in the loading zone, probably waiting for much longer than the state allowed. After a moment of contemplation, Ruby just walked up to the one straight in front of her. She couldn’t waste any more time deciding. She just had to do.

Upon entering the cab, the driver asked “Where to?” with an unfamiliar accent.

Ruby pulled out the piece of paper her mother had handed her, and read it aloud: “One Hogan Place, please.”

“The attorney’s office, miss? Is everything alright?” He asked, looking at Ruby through the rearview mirror.

“Yes, I’m meeting one of the attorneys for lunch. It’s my birthday.”

The driver nodded, not asking anything further.

Ruby spaced out through most of the drive, and unaware of how long the drive was until they reached the attorney’s office.

“Here you are ma’am,” He said, a smile on his face.

“Thank you, I really appreciate it.” She smiled back, paying for the trip, with slight shock to the price, and added a tip on the tablet.

“Happy Birthday,” he said, as she exited the car.

She smiled and waved at him as he pulled away. Then, she turned to face the building. It was bigger than she had pictured, and the streets were significantly louder. She took a deep breath before walking inside.

The place was hectic, causing Ruby’s heartbeat to raise slightly. She’d only been here a couple of times when she was younger, ironically for the same reason she’s here today. She saw a receptionist desk and walked up to it.

“Hi, I’m looking for A.D.A. Carisi. Is he in today?”

“He is. What is this in regards to?” She replied.

“A case. I thought there was like privileged conversations with attorneys. I’m not telling you specifics.”

The receptionist sighed and gave a look at Ruby in regards to her new attitude. She typed on her computer a bit before returning to her. “He doesn’t have any open slots today. Can I schedule you in for tomorrow?”

“No. It’s urgent. I have to speak with him now.” Ruby didn’t know what she was doing, but the longer it took to see Sonny, the more nervous she got.

The receptionist looked over at the entrance doors behind Ruby. “If you can catch him up while he’s walking, you can go now.”

Ruby turned to where the receptionist was looking and she finally saw him. Relief flooded her and she scurried away shouting a “Thank you!” over her shoulder.

“Excuse me, Carisi, I need to talk to you for a second,” she yelled after him.

Sonny turned around in confusion and slowed when he saw a vaguely familiar woman chasing after him. “I’m sorry ma’am, but you’re going to have to set up a meeting. I’m extremely busy today.”

“This will only take a second of your time.”

He slowed to a dead stop and turned to her, trying to place her.

“Uh, I just wanted to say, I saw you got a conviction on the Mickey Reid case. That’s how I knew where you were. I’m sorry I left _babbo_. I just wanted to let you know that I’m okay, and safe, and I wanna see _papa_.”

Carisi’s breath left his chest when he heard her say _babbo_. Only one person had ever called him that, and everybody thought she was gone forever. So, it was impossible. It couldn’t be.

“Ruby?”

She smiled and nodded when he realized who she was. “I was scared you wouldn’t remember me.”

“How could we have forgotten?” There were tears in his eyes as he approached Ruby for a hug, which she accepted. He took another deep breath before breaking the hug. “Okay, let me cancel all my meetings today. Thank God I don’t have court.”

“Oh, you don’t have to do that. I don’t wanna be a disruption.”

Sonny gave her a disapproving look before feigning a scoff. “Please, it’s the first time I’ve seen my daughter in ten years. And it’s her birthday. I’m canceling the rest of the week.”

And at this moment, Ruby had felt the first spark of joy in six years.

***

Sonny had warned her on the subway that Rafael wasn’t very good on the anniversary date of her departure. He said he blames himself for allowing it to happen, and usually, he has work to take his mind off it, but today he doesn’t.

“So just be prepared to see a depression hole.”

Ruby nodded, guilt and nerves beginning to eat away at her as Sonny unlocked the brownstone door.

The lights were off, and the house was completely dark, despite it being the daytime.

“Let me get ahead of you here, make sure he’s alright. Make yourself at home. It is your home after all.” He smiled at her before running upstairs.

Ruby wandered into the kitchen. Although it felt familiar, it also felt foreign. She remembered the layout of the kitchen, spending late nights with Sonny and Rafael drinking milk and honey after a nightmare. But it also felt unfamiliar. The pictures on the wall were different. Instead of family pictures, there were expensive abstract pieces. It was as if all of the “home” had been erased.

Ruby stared at the cupboards for a minute, trying to remember which one the cups were in. She reached for the cupboard beside the fridge, and to her surprise, the cups were there.

“Jackpot,” she whispered to herself before grabbing a glass and filling it up with the water from the fridge.

She hears a couple of footsteps coming from down the stairs, and her heart beats again.

“I don’t want to go to the kitchen, Sonny! Why can’t I just eat in my bed?” The familiar voice whines.

“I have something special for you, Rafa.”

“What in the world could be special on this day?”

“Would you just trust me?”

“Fine.”

Ruby smiled as she went over to the dining room table where there was a half-completed puzzle. That was something she remembered vividly. They would spend hours trying to complete them together.

The light above her turned on and she heard Rafael wince at the brightness.

“Hey Dad, did you miss me?” I said, turning around after putting her glass down on the table. _On the coasters_ , rang through her head.

“Ruby?” He asked, almost not believing she was in front of him.

“Hey _papa_.”

Ruby had only ever seen a grown man cry once, and that was when she was taken away from Sonny and Rafael. The scene played out in her head constantly. It was her last memory of her parents, the ones that actually loved her.

But here he was, crying again holding on to Sonny and Ruby. It wasn’t crying actually, it was sobbing.

“ _Dios mio, mija_. I thought you died.”

Sonny was also crying. Less dramatically, but still crying. It was a difficult situation to handle. Ruby started crying as well. It was a lot for her. The reintegration into her family. The stress of having to leave Willow behind. The unconditional love she felt and received in that moment was overstimulating to her.

She pulled Rafael up off her shoulders and sat him in a chair. She sat down as well, and Sonny followed suit.

“I, I need to ask for your guys’ help for something.”

“Already? It’s the first time we’ve seen you in a decade,” Sonny joked.

“That’s why I need your help.”

“What is it Ruby? You know we’ll help you with anything we can,” Rafael said, grabbing her hands.

“Well, it’s a long story. Do you mind if I add some context?”

“Catch us up on the past ten years, and we can help out,” Sonny responded.


	2. Some Nights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Why was Ruby taken from Barba and Carisi? What happened in those ten years she was gone? What does Ruby need her dads' help with?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mentions of rape and incest, but nothing graphic or described in detail.

*Ten years ago*

Rafael placed a cake on the table, Funfetti. Ruby’s smile was wide while waiting for Sonny to finish wrapping her presents. One could say Ruby was spoiled, but her dads just wanted to make sure she had everything she ever wanted.

There was a knock on the door, and Ruby ran to the front door. Rafael’s mother came by on her birthday to celebrate with the family.

“ _ Abuela! _ ” She yelled, opening the door.

But her grandmother wasn’t at the door, instead, it was two strangers. 

“Daddy! It’s for you!” She yelled back. Before Rafael could make it to the door in response, Ruby was grabbed by the man at the door.

“Carisi!” Rafael yelled and ran to the front door. Sonny peeked his head through the door, and in seeing his daughter in the arms of someone he didn’t recognize, he ran to the front door.

“What’s going on?” He asked frantically, trying to process the situation that was unfolding. 

“I AM NOT LETTING MY DAUGHTER LIVE WITH A COUPLE OF QUEERS!”

“I’m sorry?” Rafael responded.

“I’m so sorry!” the woman cried out. Not just any woman, it was Ronnie. Veronica. Ruby’s mother. That means the man was Vincent. Ruby’s biological father. “I told you to adopt her as soon as possible! This wouldn’t have happened if you would’ve just done what I told you!”

“I thought he didn’t know about her!” Rafael rebutted.

“It just slipped out! It was an accident!”

“Daddy, I’m scared!” Ruby yelled, beginning to cry.

“Ruby, it’s okay. Everything’s going to be okay,” Sonny called after her.

“Stop pushing your deviant ways onto my child! Ronnie, I can’t believe you just gave her to some pervs in New York,” he added, gripping the woman’s bicep tightly.

“No! You can’t take her from us! We’re her parents, we have the paperwork to prove it,” Rafael rushed out.

“No, you have temporary guardianship. I’m her real dad, and I’m taking her now.”

Before Sonny or Rafael could stop what was happening, Ruby, Ronnie, and Vin were gone. 

“This can’t be legal. Isn’t this kidnapping?” Sonny asked, turning to Rafael.

Rafael shook his head, sinking down to the chair next to him, with the door wide open. Sonny closed the door for him. 

“God, this is all my fault,” he whispered before burying his face in his hands.

“No, it’s not. We had no way of knowing this was going to happen.”

Rafael leaned back and looked at the ceiling. “Yes. I did. Ronnie told me when she first got pregnant to adopt Ruby right away. She told me multiple times that if he found out about her that he’d take her if I didn’t have the proper paperwork.”

“No, you can’t think like that.”

“I was being selfish. I wanted her to remember being adopted so I waited. It was all my fault.”

“Rafa, stop talking like that. We’ll get her back.”

Rafael sighed in response.

*Two Years Later*

Ruby was crying, holding her eye, bruised and black. She was in her room, hiding from her father under her bed. She hears the door open and she claps her hand over her mouth to stop any sound from coming out.

“Ruby?” her mother calls out softly. She walks over to the bed and lifts the comforter, looking under the bed. Ruby didn’t respond, instead cowered back further. “Ruby, I’m not gonna hurt you. Do you want some ice for your eye?” Ruby nodded, not moving. Ronnie slid some frozen peas under the bed to Ruby. “You know, if you just give up and call him dad, he’d stop hitting you.”

“But he’s not my dad.”

“Technically he is. Don’t be difficult. The chances of you going back to New York are slim. The sooner you accept it, the easier it will be.”

“Whatever.”

“If you fix your attitude, I’ll sneak you dinner.”

“I’m sorry.”

Ronnie just hummed in response, getting up off the floor and leaving the room.

She thought getting hit was bad. And it was. But after what happened that night, she would’ve much rather been hit.

Ruby was under the impression that Vincent didn’t know she’d eaten, so when he came into her room that night after dinner, Ruby knew for sure she was going to get in trouble again. She tried to even her breaths and pretend she was sleeping. 

“Ruby, are you awake?” he asked, not bothering to whisper. Ruby was so focused on her breathing, she barely heard him. “Who am I kidding? You probably passed out from crying after that beatdown.”

Ruby tried to not let her breath hitch at his words. He sat down on the bed next to her. “I don’t mean to hit you, especially not on your birthday. You’re my daughter. I just get so frustrated when you don’t acknowledge me as your dad. I mean, those guys in New York have no relation to you, while you have half of my DNA.”

Ruby was scared. She didn’t know what was happening. She thought he was going to kill her. Instead, he laid down next to her and stroked her hair. “I’m sorry Ruby. I hope you can forgive me. I don’t want you to be scared in this house.”

That was all Ruby could remember of that night, even to this day. But that didn’t matter, because she still knew what happened. Molestation and forcible touching by her father’s hands happened next to nightly for a year. 

It all changed on her eleventh birthday, though. The actual birthday was the same. Only acknowledgment from her mother. No presents, and no cake. She got a beatdown and went to bed. That night, her father raped her for the first time. 

Ruby didn’t know how to react, she didn’t know what to say. So she thought of her dads.  _ Do they remember me? Why haven’t they found me yet? They’re probably so disappointed in me for letting this happen.  _ She thought of everything she could to keep her mind off of the situation. Soon enough, it was over, and Ruby turned to her side and cried all night.

On her twelfth birthday, Ruby found out she was pregnant. She had been showing symptoms for weeks, but with the lacking sex education at her school, she had no idea. She had just happened to be in her mom’s bathroom looking for a hand towel when she found a stash of pregnancy tests. She thought she would take one just for fun, it would come out negative, and she’d move on with her day. But when the test came back positive, Ruby’s mind froze. 

She called for her mom, who was just as in shock as she was. But she had suspected Vince was doing something with her daughter. So what Ronnie did next was probably the only expression of love Ruby had ever seen from her. Ronnie smacked Vince across the face and told him not to lay a hand on her anymore. It didn’t go well for her mother, but when she was asked why she would come at him like that, she had to break the news to him that his daughter was pregnant and the kid was his.

He didn’t show any interest in Ruby anymore. Sexually, that is. He still beat her every chance he got. 

About 30 weeks later, Ruby gave birth to a baby girl in her mother’s bathtub. Vince didn’t let Ruby name her, because she wasn’t going to be raised as her daughter. Ruby didn’t care though, because she knew Willow would always be  _ her _ baby, and nothing could take that away from her. 

Although her dad chose to raise Willow as Ruby’s sister, most of the parental duties fell onto Ruby’s shoulders. Vince only wanted to be “dad” when he felt like it. Ruby was okay with this, though, because as long as Willow didn’t see the same fate as her, she knew she was successful as a mother.

**

Ruby couldn’t look her dads in the eyes, so she looked down at her lap. Sonny reached out to grab Ruby’s shoulder in comfort, but she squirmed away. Nobody was speaking. 

“So, is there any chance you guys can help me get custody of Willow?”

“Of course we can,” Rafael whispered, a tear falling down his cheek as he discreetly tried to wipe it away.

Everybody was in shock at the revelation of Ruby’s daughter, but it was hitting Barba like a truck. He’d had Ruby from the time she was born until she was eight years old, and even though she considered him her father, he knew he failed at every father’s main goal: keep your child safe. The blame he was placing on himself intensified after she told them. 

He and Sonny shared a look, reading of sympathy, guilt, and sorrow. 

Sonny turned back to Ruby, who was still looking at her lap.

“So we have a grandbaby?” he asked, trying to lighten the mood.

Ruby looked up with a smile and nodded. “Her name’s Willow, and she’s six years old. I have a picture. Do you wanna see?” she responded.

“Of course,” he replied. Rafael knew Sonny was exaggerating his excitement, but the mood was lightened, and his daughter was smiling again. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a folded-up picture. She handed it to Rafael first, seeing as he was the first father figure in her life.

It was like looking at a time machine. Willow looked just like Ruby when she was six. He couldn’t believe it. 

“I know it sounds weird that I want to keep custody of her because of what happened, and all of the terrible nights leading up to her, but she’s just so amazing.”

Rafael hands the picture to Sonny. “She looks just like you.”

Ruby smiled. “I’ve never seen any baby pictures of myself.”

“She’s beautiful,” Sonny interjects, handing back the picture. 

Ruby smiles again, carefully folding the picture and pocketing it.

“I presume you’re staying with us?” Sonny asks.

“If you’ll allow it,” Ruby responded.

“Please, the room’s only meant for you. It always has been.”

Ruby nods, drinking the last of her water. “I think I’m gonna turn in then. It’s been a long couple of days.” Ruby stands up from her chair, and Sonny does as well, to show her where the room is.

“Let us know if you need anything,  _ mija _ ,” Rafael called out.

“Will do,” she said back, following Sonny up the stairs.

Rafael waited until she was out of his line of sight before burying his head in his hands. He couldn’t help but blame himself for all the trauma she suffered.  _ None of this would have happened if I wasn’t so selfish _ .

Sonny showed Ruby to her room, the first door on the right.

“The bathroom is right ahead if you need it. I snuck your stuff up here while I was getting Rafael,” Sonny told her.

She nodded and walked into the room. The room was different, sure, but the decoration was the same. A dresser to her right had all of their family pictures on it. On the left was her bed, with the same bed set she had when she was eight. All of the pictures that used to be on the walls in the house were in the closet. Her single suitcase and backpack were set at the foot of the bed.

“You know, we’re gonna do everything we can to help you get Willow,” Sonny added.

“Thank you,” she responded.

“If you need anything, don’t hesitate to let us know. We’re right down the hall.” He pointed to a door at the end of the hallway. Ruby nodded in response before closing the door.

It felt weird to Sonny, not to hug her goodnight, but he saw the way she flinched when he tried to comfort her. He thought about their hug earlier, and when Rafael clung to her. He saw she was uncomfortable with the interaction. He’d seen it so many times, being an SVU detective.

He kept thinking about all of the hints that he should’ve picked up on as he walked back downstairs. The avoidance of eye contact, the desperation to not be touched. The unwavering compliance. Guilt was eating away at him. Sure, his daughter was home, but it wasn’t his  _ daughter _ . Instead, just a shell of her.

When he got back to the kitchen table, he saw Rafael in the same state of deep thought. Rafael didn’t look up when he heard the footsteps. Instead, he just laid his face further in his hands.

“Does she blame me?” he asked, not really wanting to know the answer.

“You know she doesn’t.”

“Does she?”

Sonny had to process the question for a moment.  _ Does she blame them? _ He wasn’t sure, and didn’t want to ask.

“We should head up to bed, it’s been a long day.”

Rafael nodded in response before dragging himself up from his chair and slowly making his way towards their room. Sonny stopped him quickly and gave him a reassuring kiss on the forehead.

“We’ll figure this out, okay?” Rafael nodded again in response, looking exhausted and drained before shuffling to their bedroom.

**

Sonny didn’t know what time it was, just that he hadn’t been able to sleep a wink. It took Rafael a good cry to finally wear him down enough to sleep, but for Sonny, the tears weren’t coming. All he could do was listen to his snoring and think about Ruby.

After what felt like another hour of staring at the ceiling, Sonny gave up on sleep and got out of bed to get some water. As he walked down the hallway, he heard some sniffling and cursing coming from Ruby’s room. His first instinct was to go check on her, but he hesitated a minute. After a quiet “Goddamn it, Ruby, stop crying,” he knocked on the door lightly. He didn’t receive a response but still opened the door to peek his head in.

“Hey Ruby, are you okay? I heard you crying.”

He got no response.

“I know you’re not asleep, but it’s okay. If you want me to leave you alone just say so. I’m going downstairs to get water. You can join me if you’d like.”

There was a large sigh that came from the lump in the bed before Ruby rolled out of bed and met Sonny at the door.

“I guess I’m a little hungry,” she responded.

Sonny nodded and walked away from the door, leaving her room to follow. He heard light footsteps going down the stairs behind him.

“Don’t worry about being loud, he sleeps like a rock,” Sonny said in his normal speaking voice. It got a quiet laugh from Ruby in response.

Sonny turned the light on in the kitchen and Ruby sat on a barstool by the kitchen island. Sonny opened up the fridge and analyzed it for a minute.

“Do you still like bell peppers?” He asked.

“It’s been about ten years since I’ve had one,” Ruby responded.

Sonny nodded and pulled out a red bell pepper and some milk. “We don’t have any honey, so I’ll make you hot chocolate instead. How does that sound?”

Ruby nodded, yawning a bit.

“I’m sorry for waking you up,” she said quietly.

“You didn’t. I couldn’t sleep,” Sonny responded, trying to sound comforting.

“It’s just, I don’t remember much about my time here.”

“We didn’t expect you to,” Sonny interjected, chopping up the bell pepper while the milk was on the stove.

“I can’t remember how you and dad met,” Ruby confessed.

“Do you want me to tell you?” Sonny asked, looking up from the peppers to look at her.

Ruby smiled lightly and nodded.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed it! This chapter was supposed to be longer but I got lazy and like cliffhangers.


End file.
